Collapsible signboard



April 1, 1952 G. R. ASACHIKA v COLLAPSIBLE SIGNBOARD 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2INVENTOR. GEORGER. ASACHlKA,

Arromv: Y

Filed Oct. 10, 1949 Patented Apr. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5Claims.

This. invention relates to signs and particularly to highway displaysigns of the type commonly employed along the roadways throughout thecountry.

Highway signs have been generally recognized as a hazard and are asource of extensive and expensive maintenance, since they olfer aterrific wind resistance and frequently are blown down, completelywrecking the structure, and it is an object of the present invention toprovide a sign structure that is collapsible with respect to the signarea offering the major wind resistance and contemplates a sign boardand a supporting frame with means whereby the sign board may be easilyand conveniently lowered to a horizontally reclined position andmaintained against shifting with respect to its. supporting frame priorto and during exceptionally heavy winds and, after the passage of theheavy winds, can be just as easily raised to its display positionwithout the use of ladders, props or fastening devices.

A further object. of the invention resides in a novel supporting frameand a double faced display sign board shiftable vertically of the framethrough the medium of rollers and winding cables and drum with a minimumof effort by a single person.

Another object. of the invention resides in a novel double faced displaysign board that is constructed of light weight metal and has detachabl'ysecured thereto a plurality of panels upon which the sign is painted,the panels being of such nature that a predetermined sign can be paintedon a sept of panels and transported to the structureand easily andconveniently installed with a minimum of effort.

Other novel structural details will be readily apparent during thecourse of the following description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings, wherein is illustrated a preferred form of theinvention and wherein like reference characters are employed to indicatelike parts throughout,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sign constructed in accordance withthe invention,

Figure 2 is an end view thereof,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of V Figure 6 is afragmentary end elevation of the sign board and its upper guide roller,and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary section taken on line of Figure 6.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates asupporting frame as a whole, embodying a horizontally arranged header 6connected at its opposite ends to vertically arranged uprights l. Thelower ends of the uprights terminate in a pair of outwardly inclined legportions, as at 8, forming with the uprights. inverted Y-formations. Thelegs 8 are bolted at 9 to preferably concrete sills it. As clearlyshown, the header, uprights and legs are formed of metallic channels,with the channels opening inwardly. The channel extends throughout thelength of the header, the uprights and the leg portions and iscontinuous. The header 6 is slightly wider than the uprights, for apurpose to be described. The sills are formed of a desirable size toprovide an adequate base of such weight as will maintain the frame in anupright position against abnormal wind pressures. The sills arepreferably tied together by horizontal brace rods H.

Mounted for vertical movement in the frame, is a sign board, indicatedas a whole, by the numeral l2. The signbcard I2 comprises a mountingbase 13, of tubular formation and formed of a metal calculated towithstand corrosion and normal wind pressures. The base 83 is generallyI-shaped in cross section, forming a rectangular recess [4 upon its.opposite faces. Detachably supported in the recesses upon the oppositefaces of the board, are a plurality of metallic panels [5, having adisplay face I t and its marginal edges flanged, as at IT for addedstrength against twisting. The. upper and lower ends of the panels arenotched, as at l8. The panels are of a size to be conveniently arrangedin the recesses M in side to side abutment, with their display faces l6exposed. The panels are held within the recesses I4 against displacementby a suitable molding i9, overlying the panels and held in position byscrews 20. The notches [8 are for clearance over the screws 28 atassembly. The screws 20 have threaded engagement in openings 2i, formedin the recessed wall of the board.

Rotatably supported at opposite ends of the board, are guide rollers 22and 23. The sign board l2 has a width equal to the outside width of theuprights. 1, as clearly shown in Figure 5, while the additional width ofthe header permits the upper edge of the board to extend slightlythereinto, also clearly indicated in Figure 5. The rollers 22 and 23have a diameter that permits freely rotatable movement in the channelsof the uprights l and the channels of the leg portions 8. The sign boardis held in display position, with both faces exposed, by two or morecables 24, operating over grooved pulleys 25, supported upon crossshafts 26, carried by the header 6. The cables 24 are fixed at theirfree ends to the head of the sign board l2 and trained over the pulleys25 to a winding drum 21, rotatably supported in the channel of oneupright l. The shaft 28 of the drum extends through the wall of theupright and carries a ratchet wheel 29, held by a pawl 30. A hand crank3|, fixed upon the shaft 28, serves to operate the drum for raising andlowering the sign board l2, as desired. The roller 23 is shiftableagainst the tension of a spring 32, for a purpose to be described. Theroller 23 is supported upon a shaft 33, carried by a rectangular block34, slidable in a slot 35 of the end portion of the signboard. A guiderod 36 supports the sliding movement of the block against the spring 32.

In use, the sign is mounted in a desirable location adjacent a highwayand preferably at a right angle to the highway, so that its oppositefaces will be equally disposed. The panels having been painted orotherwise decorated, are placed in the board I2 and secured by themolding l9. When an abnormal wind is expected. such as would normallydestroy the conventional road sign, an operator visits each sign and, byreleasing the pawl 30, lowers the sign board with its supported panelsi5, by rotating the drum 21 in the proper direction. Such action permitsthe sign board to be lowered downward, guided by its rollers 22 and 23in the channels of the uprights until the lower rollers 22 hit the apexof the Y, at which time the rollers 22 will traverse one leg 8, whilethe upper rollers 23 tend to traverse the opposite leg 8. Since therollers 23 mus travel in an arc, the springs 32 permit them to moveinwardly, thus permitting the sign board 12 to swing toward a horizontalposition, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5, until it finallyrests in a horizontal position with the rollers resting within theterminal ends of the channels. In this position, the sign offersrelatively little wind resistance, while the frame offers practically nowind resistance. When the abnormal weather condition ceases, theoperator merely returns and winds the drum 2'! through the medium of itscrank 31, pulling upon the cables 24, which in turn pulls the sign boardupward in the same path of movement as when it was lowered and at thetermination of its upward movement, will be held against dropping by thepawl 30. When mounting the panels IS, the operator lowers the sign boardl2 to a convenient height, after which it is then raised to displayposition.

It will be apparent, that a very novel and highly desirable form of signhas been provided. Conventional road signs carry a very expensivemaintenance cost. The sign of the application can be formed of aluminumor other light weight metals, costing relatively little more thanconventional signs while at the same time being of a permanent nature.The sign board 12 is relatively light in weight and requires a minimumof force to raise and lower. The panels l5, being demountable, can befirst painted or decorated in the shop and then transported to the sign,where they are mounted upon opposite faces 4 of the board 12. Thisavoids scaffolding, such as is now employed when painting conventionalsigns. The sign of this application further has the advantage of beingreadable from both directions, which is a distinct advantage. Groundpegs may be found desirable in the smaller signs and would be driventhrough the base 10 into the ground prior to the setting of theconcrete.

While a preferred example of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be apparent that minor changes in the shape, size andarrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. A sign of the character described comprising a vertically arrangedU-shaped frame of channel formation, the said frame comprising a headerand uprights, the uprights terminating at their lower ends in outwardlyinclined legs of channel formation, the said channels communicatingthroughout the header, uprights and legs, a rigid base for the supportof the frame, a sign device having opposite display faces, guide rollerscarried by the sign device and operable in the channels, means forraising and lowering the sign device with respect to the frame, the saidsign device when lowered to the base caused to assume a horizontalposition by the engagement of the rollers in the channels.

2. In a highway sign, the combination of a supporting frame and ashiftable sign device having double display faces, the frame comprisinga header of channel formation and integral vertically arranged uprightsof channel formation, the channels of the header and uprightscommunicating and continuous, the lower portions of the uprights dividedinto angularly disposed legs of channel formation with the channels ofthe legs communicating with the channels of the uprights, a rigid basefor the fixed support of the legs, a winding drum carried by oneupright, grooved pulleys carried by the header, cables wound upon thedrum and trained over the pulleys with their terminal ends attached tothe sign device, antifriction guide rollers supported upon the ends ofthe sign device and operable in the channels of the uprights and legswhen the sign is vertically shifted, the said sign device when loweredto the base assuming a flat position with its display faces inhorizontal alignment with the base.

3. In a highway sign for double display purposes comprising a U-shapedframe including a horizontal header of channel formation and a pair ofvertically arranged uprights of channel formation with the channels ofthe header and uprights being continuous, the lower ends of the uprightsdivided into a pair of angularly disposed leg portions of channelformation with the channels of the legs being identical in diameter andcontinuous with the channels of the uprights, concrete base members forthe ground support of the legs, a sign device of rectangular shapevertically shiftable Within the frame, the sign device being of a lengthto lie Within the frame and parallel with the header and uprights,antifriction guide rollers carried by the ends of the sign device totraverse the channels of the uprights and legs, one roller at each endof the sign device being yieldable inwardly, a winding drum supportedwithin the channel of one upright and having a winding handle, ratchetmeans for the drum, a plurality of grooved pulleys supported in thechannel of the header, cables wound upon the drum and trained over thepulleys with their terminal ends connected to the top of the signdevice, demountable panels supported upon the opposite faces of the signdevice, the sign device when shifted downwardly causing its guiderollers to traverse the channels of both sets of legs for swinging thesign to a position with its display faces in horizontal alignment andadjacent to the base.

4. A sign structure of the character described having a double displayface, comprising a U- shaped frame of channel formation including aheader, and uprights and angularly disposed legs for the lower ends ofthe uprights, the channel extending throughout the header, uprights andlegs, a rigid concrete ground base for the bolting support of the'legs,brace rods between the base of each upright, a sign display board ofrectangular shape formed tubular and having its opposite faces inset, aplurality of sign panels for demountable'support within the insets inabutting relation, strips for retaining the panels against accidentaldisplacement, antifriction guide rollers carried by the ends of the signboard adjacent its lower edge, antifriction guide rollers carried by theends of the sign board adjacent its upper edge, the last named rollersbeing yieldable inwardly, the sign board lying wholly within the frameand having a width corresponding to the width of the uprights, the saidrollers adapted to traverse the channels vertically, a winding drumsupported in the channel of one upright, a hand crank for rotating thedrum, a ratchet for the drum, a plurality of grooved pulleys rotatablysupported Within the channel of the header with certain of the pulleysarranged adjacent the ends of the sign board, cables Wound around thedrum and trained over the pulleys with their terminal ends connected tothe upper edge of the sign board, the said sign board adapted to beshifted downwardly of,the uprights with the first named set of rollersengaging in the channels of one corresponding leg at each end of theframe and the second named set of rollers engaging the channels of theother corresponding legs at either end of the frame, the said rollerstraversing the leg channels in a manner to cause the sign board toassume a position in parallelism with the base with its display faces inhorizontal position.

1,5. A sign of the character described comprising a U-shaped framehaving a header and integral uprights at opposite ends, the header andupright being of channel formation with the channels continuous, thelower portions of the uprights provided with integral outwardly angledlegs of channel formation with the channels of the legs being identicalwith the channels of the uprights and continuous therewith, a doublefaced sign board vertically shiftable within the frame, raising andlowering means for the sign board carried by the frame, the sign boardbeing of flat tubularform having recessed opposite faces throughout itsmajor area, antifriction guide rollers carried by the ends of the signboard for traversing the channels of the uprights and legs, a pluralityof rectangular shaped panels adapted to be detachably mounted within therecessed faces in abutting relation, the panels having theircircumferential edges flanged with the upper and lower ends notched,molding strips for supporting the panels in the recesses againstaccidental displacement, screws for attaching the molding strips, thescrews passing through the notches of the panels, the recesses providedwith screw threaded openings for the reception of the screws.

GEORGE R. ASACHIKA.

REFERENCES CITED "The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

